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Azerbaijan: Baku Disputes Story on Azerbaijani-Israeli Military Collaboration against Iran
Azerbaijani military and political analysts are disputing a March 28 report on an American website that alleges Israel has gained access to airbases in Azerbaijan for possible use in an attack against Iran. While one member of Azerbaijan's parliament tells EurasiaNet.org that he believes Israel is seeking such access, he, along with other local analysts, believe that the risks of Baku's granting such a request far outweigh the potential benefits. "There is infrastructure, and I believe the Israelis are probing the possibility of its use. But, of course, there is no consent by Baku," said Rasim Musabekov, an independent MP who sits on parliament's International Relations and Inter-Parliamentary Affairs Committee. It is "a great exaggeration to say that a decision has already been made and Azerbaijan has turned into one Israeli airbase," he added. Ali Hasanov, a top presidential aide, and representatives of the Ministry of Defense have vigorously denied the claims made in the March 28 report, which was posted on the web version of Foreign Policy magazine. Meanwhile, Azerbaijani military analysts are seizing on questionable aspects of the report. The article, for example, cited Sitalcay airstrip, located 70 kilometers north of Baku, as one likely candidate for use by the Israelis for re-fueling fighter planes after strikes against Iran. But military expert Uzeir Jafarov, a colonel-in-reserve in the Azerbaijani army, notes that the airfield, which opened in 1981 and once housed Soviet jet fighters, has not been in operation since the mid-1990s. "From 1992 for a few years, the airfield was used by Azerbaijan's air force, but then was closed down," Jafarov said. Sitalcay's location is another important detail, continued Jafarov. "It is not a good place to keep a low-profile," he said. "The airstrip is located very close to the busy Baku-Russian border highway and any take-off or landing is easily visible." While Sitalcay's Soviet-era infrastructure is still usable, he added, preparing the airfield for operations again would take at least six months. A resident of Khizi, a town close to the Sitalcay airstrip, told EurasiaNet.org that there has been no sign of recent activity at the airfield, which, he added, is long closed. "The area is fenced in and guarded by soldiers, but there are no jets there," he said. Military expert Jasur Sumarinly also confirmed that Sitalcay has been closed for years. The Azerbaijani air force today uses three bases – in Gala and Taghiyev, outside of Baku, and in the Kurdamir region, in central Azerbaijan, Sumarinly said. All of the bases are up to North Atlantic Treaty Organization standards, but NATO itself relies on Baku's Heydar Aliyev International Airport for its cargo transit to Afghanistan. No strong incentive exists for such an agreement – despite Azerbaijan's $1.6 billion purchase of Israeli military equipment and oil sales to Israel, commented Arastun Orujlu, head of Baku's East-West research center. "The links with Israel are important for Azerbaijan, but not so much as to turn them into a real threat from Iran, and to risk Baku's ties with Turkey," he said. Citing unnamed sources in Turkish diplomatic circles, Elhan Shahinoglu, the head of Baku's Atlas research center, said that Azerbaijan's military cooperation with Israel already appears to have created problems for Baku with Turkey, its closest ally. Both Orujlu and Shahinoglu believe that Israel is exaggerating the scale of its military cooperation with Azerbaijan in order to fuel tensions between Baku and Tehran, and advance its own desire for strong action against Iran's nuclear research activities. Shahinoglu cites Israeli media reports last month about Azerbaijan's purchase of military equipment from Israel, a fact Baku had previously concealed. The result, he alleged, was that Azerbaijani Defense Minister Safar Abiyev, who traveled to Iran earlier this month, "had to give unpleasant explanations to Tehran." Orujlu agreed. "It is Israel, which, from time to time, leaks information about a larger scale of cooperation than exists in reality to stir up Iran's anger," he said. "Unfortunately, Baku cannot, or does not want to prevent it." Azerbaijan also has been notably circumspect in public about its investigation of a supposed Iranian assassination attempt against Israeli targets in Azerbaijan and its arrest of 22 individuals who were allegedly plotting attacks against the US and Israeli embassies in Baku on behalf of Iran. That public silence most likely reflects the longtime Caucasus art of foreign policy juggling; in Azerbaijan's case, trying to maintain its equilibrium between regional players – the United States, Russia, Turkey, Israel and Iran – countries with opposing interests. Analysts like Orujlu see no reason for Baku to upset that balance now. "It is the wrong policy to be in the center of a conflict between Israel and Iran," he said. [Editor's Note: Rasim Musabekov formerly served on the board of the Open Society Assistance Foundation-Azerbaijan, part of the Soros Foundations network. EurasiaNet.org operates under the auspices of the Open Society Institute, a separate part of the network].
Shahin Abbasov is a freelance reporter based in Baku.
Sign up for Eurasianet's free weekly newsletter. Support Eurasianet: Help keep our journalism open to all, and influenced by none.


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It's not hard to see why Sam Lutfi is suing the Spears clan -- he's got a debt collection agency on his back.
According to documents obtained by TMZ, a lien was slapped on Lutfi's condo back in April. Lutfi never paid the debt, which grew to $18,507.58 by November.
The lien was filed by a debt collection agency on behalf of the homeowner's association where Lutfi has a condo.
According to docs, Lutfi has until February 10 to pay up or the condo could be forced into foreclosure.
And Lutfi has other financial issues. A bank that issued Sammy boy a Discover Card filed a lawsuit against him last month, claiming he owes $7,966.98.
Lutfi filed a lawsuit against Britney and her parents yesterday, claiming, among other things, libel, defamation and battery.

subset: commoncrawl


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Go Back |
Go To Articles Directory Home Page To get the current article, - See Below (at the bottom of the page) -. For top news titles, see below. Web sites and videos listed in this page are frequently updated. If you find that this page is useful (quality of web sites, images and videos, ...), you can add it to your favorites. Bookmark Page ! |
Toyota Likely To Beat Ford In U.S.
About the Author: Chuck, a 38 year old freelance writer from Charleston, South Carolina, has been specializing on automotive-related articles and news. He has a degree in Automotive Technology.


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A Missouri men's basketball fan who regularly traveled with the team to NCAA tournament games the past four seasons is among more than a dozen people facing federal drug conspiracy charges for cocaine distribution.
Levi McLean Franklin Coolley, a 33-year-old car stereo shop owner, was on the team plane on tournament trips to Boise, Idaho, and Phoenix in 2009; Buffalo, N.Y., in 2010; and to Washington, D.C., in 2011. Coolley also joined a team flight to Columbia from Austin, Texas, in January and received complimentary tickets from Missouri players at nine games in the 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons.
The connection was first reported Sunday by the Columbia Daily Tribune, which obtained flight manifests from the university under state public records laws.
In March, FBI agents arrested Coolley on felony cocaine distribution charges at the Missouri team hotel in Omaha, Neb., hours before the Tigers' most recent NCAA appearance, a second-round loss to Norfolk State. Missouri athletic officials said that an internal review found no improper influence by Coolley, who was on the team flights as a guest of Jay Lindner, a Columbia real estate developer and prominent Missouri donor.
''We conducted a review, and we were comfortable with the results,'' said spokesman Chad Moller. ''It's very concerning, and very troubling to hear that people who come around your program be accused of this type of thing. At a basic level, you try to trust that people are doing the right thing. But it's impossible to know the background of everybody.''
A federal grand jury indicted Coolley in late May on four counts of drug distribution, alleging that he conspired to sell more than five kilograms (about 11 pounds) of cocaine from January 2005 through mid-March as well as less than 50 kilograms of marijuana (110 pounds) between July 2011 and March 16 of this year. He and the other defendants are awaiting trial dates.
A total of 16 people face charges in the federal investigation, with five defendants charged after the initial March arrests. All but one of the defendants, a Kansas City man, listed central Missouri addresses in court documents.
Coolley could not be reached for comment on Monday, and his attorney, Jeff Hilbrenner, did not immediately respond to an Associated Press interview request.
Lindner, whose father Jose founded the Forum Development Group and was a Columbia Chamber of Commerce president before his 2010 death, said Coolley's arrest ''was a complete shock.'' Lindner, the development group's president, said he has not since spoken to Coolley.
Missouri athletic director Mike Alden told the Tribune that he too was ''shocked'' by Coolley's arrest and didn't think the fan's contact with the program involved the improper exchange of tickets by student-athletes or other NCAA violations. Like other Division I programs, Missouri allows major donors to purchase empty seats on team planes when traveling to big events such as NCAA and conference tournaments and football bowl games.
Coolley's team trips occurred under both former Missouri coach Mike Anderson, now at Arkansas, and Frank Haith, who led the team to a 30-5 record and a Big 12 tournament title in his first year in Columbia. Haith spent the previous seven years at Miami, where the NCAA continues to investigate allegations that convicted Ponzi schemer Nevin Shapiro provided cash payments and other extra benefits to 72 Hurricanes athletes between 2002 and 2010.
Haith, who won several national coach of the year awards earlier this year, has denied any improper contact with Shapiro.


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TOMAHAWK, Wis. (AP) -- Federal safety officials fined an Illinois-based company more than $185,000 on Thursday after a worker suffered severe burns at the same northern Wisconsin plant where five people have been killed since 2008.
Packaging Corp. of America was cited for 30 alleged safety violations, including failing to provide proper safety equipment and improperly storing hazardous materials.
The citations stem from an accident in March at a paper mill in Tomahawk. A worker was severely burned while trying to light a steam boiler, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration said.
"Past explosions arising from similar hazards by this employer have led to tragic incidents," OSHA spokesman Robert Bonack said. "In this case, failing to prevent the ignition of flammable vapors and provide workers with appropriate personal protective equipment is another preventable misstep that has led to serious injuries."
The company has 15 days to pay the fine or contest the findings. A message left at the company's headquarters in Lake Forest, Ill., was not immediately returned.
The accident occurred in the same plant where five workers have been killed in the past five years. Two people were fatally burned by ash last year, and three others died in an explosion in 2008.
More from MBTMag.com
Google Argues For Right To Continue Scanning Gmail
World Leaders Push Big Companies To Pay More Taxes
The Scary Reality Of Hacking Infrastructure


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I'm recovering today from the whirlwind of last two days, feeling so amazed by all the talent on display and impressed with the hundreds of creative people present at the same conference, sharing their knowledge and skills with one another.
I've been thinking about creativity a lot, what it means, how to channel it, where it comes from, and how to use those inspired ideas to turn them into something satisfying and tangible. Children are great examples of creativity in action. Their minds are free to make up worlds and crafts and ideas and art with their wild imaginations and most express themselves creatively without reservation.
But then something happens as we grow. We start to care what others will think and then we squelch our creativity deep down out of fear. I think that's where the common phrase "I'm not creative" comes from, our adult shell refusing to let our childlike inspiration run free. I believe we're all born creative, and as adults, we need to consciously tap into those ideas, those feelings, those moments, and take action to express them, whether it's writing or photography or art or design or whatever subject it is that brings forth those unique ideas.
On this topic, I asked a few ladies who express their own creativity with great confidence and finesse to share their personal definitions. I hope you enjoy their responses as much as I do.
"Creativity often happens for me when I'm out and about in Mother Nature (even if it's only the Urban Jungle). It's combinations of color especially blow me away, like the trees in a forest whose perfect shadings of multiple greens and browns inspired my living room walls and trim." – Elaine Griffin, Interior Designer
"The thing about creativity is that it works best with three ingredients that most of us try to avoid. The first is margin, you know like white space. I do my best creative work when I give myself permission to mess around with no expectations if I know I need to be done in 15 minutes my creativity is squelched. Creativity takes unscheduled time.
The other ingredients? Risk and limitations. If you don't take a risk then you aren't really being creative are you? And those pesky limitations? Those are the parameters where the creativity happens. My most creative days last year were when I worked ahead of time and decorated for my sister's book release party. I limited myself to decorating with only book pages and then I had time to take big risks knowing if something didn't work out, I could make something else." – Nester from Nesting Place
"You know you are in that creative zone when you realize that you haven't eaten in 10 hours, your shoes are untied and you are about to literally pee your pants but you can't seem to pull yourself away from that amazing booth at the flea market that is selling that one thing that you need. True story. It's almost debilitating at times – that zone can be dangerously fun.
Creativity is all about instincts – you see something amazing/unique/one of a kind and your stomach lurches and panic sets in because there is a chance that before you have time to ask the vendor how much it is, someone else might see and and buy it. It's truly a hoarders fear, but its one that designers have, too. The second you see that perfect thing the room that's it's going to be in flashes before your eyes – its like it all comes together and this was the key – without this piece the room is fine, but with the piece this room could be in a magazine. It's not just about good shopping, its all about imagination." – Emily Henderson, Stylist and Designer
"Creativity is where my personality lands. It is within each of us to create and we just have to find the right medium that inspires us. For me, it's design." – Marian of Miss Mustard Seed
"Creativity is when the visual images that enter my brain mix together and the synapses spark and in my mind I have a vision. Once it's stuck there I have to take steps towards creating. The key is to listen to that voice and those visions and respect that it's not silly, it's real and that idea is valid and valuable. I believe most people have that capability, but some don't know how to act on it (yet)." – Diane at In My Own Style
For me, creativity often comes unexpectedly, when I'm surprised by a new discovery when I'm out and about or reading something or hearing something that peaks my interest and if I hadn't been present in that moment, the idea never would have occurred. It strikes when there are no distractions, with a peaceful or even quiet state of mind – when there are no pressures to perform and I'm open to inspiration from unexpected sources.
Creativity is achieved when a person pairs a passion in their heart with the knowledge in their brain, and a chosen medium, and then gives themselves permission to make something with that idea, accepting that the result could be a failure or a success. Often creativity requires going against the established rules of thought and pushing forth beyond what we're "supposed" to do so that we can create something new and fresh. It's rethinking, reinventing, rewiring, reworking or simply adding your own spin to an existing idea. It's giving yourself permission to be different, to see the things that others don't see, and pursue those ideas with passion.
What is your definition of Creativity?


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Due to the snow storm, the Princeton University campus is closed for non-critical staff from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 10. Critical services employees must report to work at their normal duty times and should notify their supervisors as early as possible if they expect to be delayed arriving at work. Academic classes are canceled for the entire day.
A definition of critical services employees is available on the Office of Human Resources' emergency weather policy. Employees who have work schedules that start after 5 p.m. should call their supervisors to learn if there are any adjustments to their expected time of arrival.
With a winter storm warning still in effect, the University will continue to monitor weather conditions and provide updates. Students, faculty and staff are advised to check the Princeton home page for weather-related updates.
Campus opening and closing information also is available on the University's weather emergency hotline, (609) 258-SNOW.
In addition, the University maintains an Emergency Preparedness website. The environmental health and safety and facilities offices have published a list of tips on pedestrian safety during the winter.
The National Weather Service provides weather updates for central New Jersey on its website. In addition, the New Jersey Red Cross offers winter storm preparation and safety tips online.


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Digman, Matthew |
Submitted to: Symposium Proceedings
Publication Type: Proceedings Publication Acceptance Date: 2/15/2013 Publication Date: 2/28/2013 Citation: Digman, M.F. 2013. Saving time and fuel during tillage. In: Proceedings of the Idaho Hay and Forage Conference, February 28-March 1, 2013, Burley, Idaho. p. 42-43. Interpretive Summary: Technical Abstract: As with any farm operation, the value of tillage must be weighed against its cost. The first costs to consider are labor, fuel, and machinery. These costs are estimated to range from $9 to $19 per acre, depending on the field operation and equipment used. Additionally, tillage can increase costs of subsequent field operations as loose soil reduces tractive efficiency, adding further cost to operations such as planting. Finally, some tillage costs are harder to quantify, including the risk of soil erosion and nutrient loss. Conversely, tillage can have many positive impacts on crop production. These impacts can include remediating soil compaction, managing crop residues, and providing favorable spring planting conditions. |


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BALTIMORE (AP) — A union leader says layoffs have begun at Sparrows Point with the steel mill's owner shutting down the blast furnace.
Joe Rosel, president of United Steelworkers Local 9477, tells The Baltimore Sun (http://bsun.md/Ll3cP7) that Friday's layoffs were in the iron- and steelmaking departments. Rosel did not know how many workers received layoff notices.
With the shutdown Wednesday of the blast furnace, layoffs are expected to affect most of the nearly 2,000 workers at the plant.
The mill's owner, RG Steel LLC filed for bankruptcy protection last month.
Maryland Sens. Barbara Mikulski and Ben Cardin urged labor and tax officials to give eligible workers and retirees quick approval to a program that gives retraining assistance, financial aid and health care tax credits.


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Proactive maintenance emphasizes the routine detection and correction of root cause conditions that would otherwise lead to equipment failure. In the case of hydraulic systems, there are three easily detectable symptoms that give early warning of root cause conditions. These symptoms are abnormal noise, high fluid temperature and slow operation.
Abnormal noise in hydraulic systems is often caused by aeration or cavitation. Aeration occurs when air contaminates the hydraulic fluid. Air in the hydraulic fluid makes an alarming banging or knocking noise when it compresses and decompresses, as it circulates through the system.
Other symptoms include foaming of the fluid and erratic actuator movement. Aeration accelerates degradation of the fluid and causes damage to system components through loss of lubrication, overheating and burning of seals.
Air usually enters the hydraulic system through the pump's inlet. For this reason, it is important to make sure pump intake lines are in good condition and all clamps and fittings are tight. Flexible intake lines can become porous with age; therefore, replace old or suspect intake lines. If the fluid level in the reservoir is low, a vortex can develop, allowing air to enter the pump intake.
Check the fluid level in the reservoir, and if low, fill to the correct level. In some systems, air can enter the pump through its shaft seal. Check the condition of the pump shaft seal and if it is leaking, replace it.
Cavitation occurs when the volume of fluid demanded by any part of a hydraulic circuit exceeds the volume of fluid being supplied. This causes the absolute pressure in that part of the circuit to fall below the vapor pressure of the hydraulic fluid. This results in the formation of vapor cavities within the fluid, which implode when compressed, causing a characteristic knocking noise.
The consequences of cavitation in a hydraulic system can be serious. Cavitation causes metal erosion, which damages hydraulic components and contaminates the fluid. In extreme cases, cavitation can cause mechanical failure of system components.
While cavitation can occur just about anywhere within a hydraulic circuit, it commonly occurs at the pump. A clogged inlet strainer or restricted intake line will cause the fluid in the intake line to vaporize. If the pump has an inlet strainer or filter, it is important for it not to become clogged. If a gate-type isolation valve is fitted to the intake line, it must be fully open.
This type of isolation device is prone to vibrating closed. The intake line between the reservoir and pump should not be restricted. Flexible intake lines are prone to collapsing with age; therefore, replace old or suspect intake lines.
Fluid temperatures above 180°F (82°C) can damage seals and accelerate degradation of the fluid. This means that the operation of any hydraulic system at temperatures above 180°F is detrimental and should be avoided. Fluid temperature is too high when viscosity falls below the optimum value for the system's components. The temperature at which this occurs is dependent on the viscosity grade of the fluid in the system and can be well below 180°F.
High fluid temperature can be caused by anything that either reduces the system's capacity to dissipate heat or increases its heat load. Hydraulic systems dissipate heat through the reservoir. Therefore, the reservoir fluid level should be monitored and maintained at the correct level. Check that there are no obstructions to airflow around the reservoir, such as a build up of dirt or debris.
It is important to inspect the heat exchanger and ensure that the core is not blocked. The ability of the heat exchanger to dissipate heat is dependent on the flow rate of both the hydraulic fluid and the cooling air or water circulating through the exchanger. Therefore, check the performance of all cooling circuit components and replace as necessary.
When fluid moves from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure without performing useful work (pressure drop), heat is generated. This means that any component that has abnormal internal leakage will increase the heat load on the system. This could be anything from a cylinder that is leaking high-pressure fluid past its piston seal, to an incorrectly adjusted relief valve. Identify and change-out any heat-generating components.
Air generates heat when compressed. This means that aeration increases the heat load on the hydraulic system. As already explained, cavitation is the formation of vapor cavities within the fluid. These cavities generate heat when compressed. Like aeration, cavitation increases heat load. Therefore, inspect the system for possible causes of aeration and cavitation.
In addition to damaging seals and reducing the service life of the hydraulic fluid, high fluid temperature can cause damage to system components through inadequate lubrication as a result of excessive thinning of the oil film (low viscosity). To prevent damage caused by high fluid temperature, a fluid temperature alarm should be installed in the system and all high temperature indications investigated and rectified immediately.
A reduction in machine performance is often the first indication that there is something wrong with a hydraulic system. This usually manifests itself in longer cycle times or slow operation. It is important to remember that in a hydraulic system, flow determines actuator speed and response. Therefore, a loss of speed indicates a loss of flow.
Flow can escape from a hydraulic circuit through external or internal leakage. External leakage such as a burst hose is usually obvious and therefore easy to find. Internal leakage can occur in the pump, valves or actuators, and unless you are gifted with X-ray vision, is more difficult to isolate.
As previously noted, where there is internal leakage there is a pressure drop, and where there is a pressure drop heat is generated. This makes an infrared thermometer a useful tool for identifying components with abnormal internal leakage. However, temperature measurement is not always conclusive in isolating internal leakage and in these cases the use of a hydraulic flow-tester will be required.
The influence of internal leakage on heat load means that slow operation and high fluid temperature often appear together. This can be a vicious circle. When fluid temperature increases, viscosity decreases. When viscosity decreases, internal leakage increases. When internal leakage increases, heat load increases, resulting in a further increase in fluid temperature and so the cycle continues.
Proactively monitoring noise, fluid temperature and cycle times is an effective way to detect conditions that can lead to costly component failures and unscheduled downtime of hydraulic equipment. In most cases, informed observation is all that is required.
Read more on how to keep hydraulics reliable:
How to Combat Leaking Hydraulic Connections
Carrying Out Effective Repairs to Hydraulic Cylinders
Hydraulic Filter Location Pros and Cons


text: On Thu, 9 Dec 2004, Sean Dilda wrote: > Robert G. Brown wrote: > > > > > Try it not as root. In fact, if you've copied the same keypairs into > > all your user's directories: > > Rob, I believe you've responded to the wrong person. The original > poster, named akhtar Rasool, did a really weird and potentially > dangerous thing with user keys. Then later on Suvendra Nath Dutat asked > about hostbased authentication in ssh which uses host keys instead of > user keys. These are two different people with two different setups. Maybe I misread things, sorry. > As for sshing as different users. I know that the hostbased will not > let you do that, as I'm using hostbased in my cluster. Actually, the only difference between host based and user based ssh authentication is where the host keys were stored and how reliable they are likely to be (see e.g. man sshd). In fact I recall a time where passwordless login only tended to be permitted by sysadmins if you DID have a ssh_known_hosts table, as this is the only form of host authentication likely to be valid. In host based, host keys are collected by the sysadmin (presumably a trusted and perfectly knowledgeable agent) and put in /etc/ssh/ssh_known_hosts on all hosts. Doing this actualy allows users to skip the silly tell-me-again step where it asks users to verify that the host key of the host they are connecting to the first time is correct (as if they have any way they are every likely to use to tell, or even CAN use without connecting to the host in question first). At best, building up ~user/.ssh/known_hosts in this way adds a questionable amount to the overall security of any LAN. At worst over a WAN it is probably an open but unnoticed invitation for MitM attacks. I suspect that the thing that prevents users from using authorized key based (passwordless) authentication is a PAM setting or setting in /etc/ssh/ssh*.config, but pam is really hard for me to untangle in a truly deterministic way (too many settings, too many complicated interactions). sshd_config is pretty deterministic, though; look at: PermitEmptyPasswords PermitRootLogin which enable/disable most of the stuff we've been talking about and which have settings that vary according to the whim of the packager in any given distribution for their defaults. Usually I just tweak these settings a bit (and sometimes end up having to mess with PAM) and eventually find a combination that permits user and/or root login with or without passwords required, as the environment and my needs seems to require. FWIW, I just did another simple experiment and proved that I could (still) install ssh_known_hosts on two nodes in my home cluster (running pretty much stock dulug RH 9), delete the host entries in my ~/.ssh/known_hosts file, copy my id_dsa.pub into a son's authorized_keys file, and ssh directly to my son's account without either typing a password or "approving" the host key and having a new table entry in my ~/.ssh/known_hosts. So I'm >>certain<< that this isn't actually relevant to passworded vs passwordless login in the authentication stack or the dangerous elements of sharing keypairs among different individuals with a desire not to have their mail or files or ssh encrypted datastreams (all keyed to this pair) openly accessible to others. ssh_keyscan can be used to easily gather ssh host keys and build an ssh_known_hosts file. Doing this likely marginally increases the security of your ssh connections (IF you do it under circumstances that you know cannot be spoofed, e.g. inside a firewall and not over a WAN connection, of course) and keeps users from having to constantly "validate" host keys. If you keep it well-maintained, you can also avoid having ten users complain about the man-in-the-middle warning (and having to tell them what to do about it) that inevitably pops up after a reinstall unless you carefully preserve and restore the old keypairs. rgb -- Robert G. Brown http://www.phy.duke.edu/~rgb/ Duke University Dept. of Physics, Box 90305 Durham, N.C. 27708-0305 Phone: 1-919-660-2567 Fax: 919-660-2525 email:rgb at phy.duke.edu


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UA:Aquatic Half-Orcs
From D&D Wiki
This material is published under the OGL 1.0a. |
Aquatic Half-Orcs
In their remote and wild tribal homes, aquatic orcs occasionally coexist with barbarian tribes of aquatic humans. Sometimes the two groups intermarry, producing aquatic half-orcs.
Racial Traits: Aquatic half-orcs have the following racial traits.
- +2 Strength, –2 Intelligence, –2 Charisma. An aquatic half-orc's starting Intelligence score is always at least 3. If this adjustment would lower the character's score to 1 or 2, his score is nevertheless 3.
- Humanoid (Aquatic, Orc): An aquatic half-orc has the aquatic subtype. An aquatic half-orc can breathe underwater. He cannot also breathe air unless he also has the amphibious special quality. He can hold his breath outside the water for 2 rounds per point of Constitution. After that, he begins to suffocate.
- Medium: As Medium creatures, aquatic half-orcs have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
- Aquatic half-orc base land speed is 30 feet.
- An aquatic half-orc has a swim speed of 30 feet. He can move through water at his swim speed without making Swim checks. He has a +8 racial bonus on any Swim check to perform some action or avoid a hazard. He can always choose to take 10 on a Swim check, even if distracted or endangered. He can use the run action while swimming, provided he swims in a straight line.
- Emissaries: As emissaries for their tribes, aquatic half-orcs receive a +2 racial bonus on Diplomacy and Gather Information checks. They aren't the best diplomats under the waves, but they're a far sight better than their orc cousins.
- Darkvision: Aquatic half-orcs (and aquatic orcs) can see in the dark up to 60 feet. Darkvision is black and white only, but it is otherwise like normal sight, and aquatic half-orcs can function just fine with no light at all.
- Orc Blood: For all effects related to race, an aquatic half-orc is considered an orc.
- Automatic Languages: Common and Orc. Bonus Languages: Draconic, Giant, Gnoll, Goblin, and Abyssal.
- Favored Class: Barbarian. A multiclass aquatic half-orc's barbarian class does not count when determining whether he takes an experience point penalty.
- Level Adjustment: +0*.
Back to Main Page → Variant Rules → Races → Environmental Racial Variants → Aquatic Races


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Renowned for impeccable build quality, enviable necks and playability, as well as a top-notch roster of guitar and bass players, Music Man's styling is unique. You tend to love them… or not quite know what to make of them.
Typifying this situation is the Albert Lee model - a quirky, angular design that looks like nothing else and is a perfect fit for the great rocking country player whose name it takes. As he rattles out those unfeasibly quick licks on it, the two are one. For 2010 we get this rosewood-necked, dual-humbucker version. Certainly, in Music Man's world, quirky is in!
We'll lay our cards on the table right away and say that the three single-coil Albert Lee guitar has always been our favourite Music Man six-stringer. It's unique, and in our eyes the design just seems to work.
Triangular-horned and looking like two teams of huskies have tried to pull the pickguard apart at the corners, it shouldn't really hang together at all, but plainly does. What's more, behind the styling is an instrument good enough to have weaned one of the world's most jaw-dropping guitarists off his once trademark vintage Fender Telecasters, so take it lightly at your peril.
Over the years there have been several incarnations and options, but this latest Albert Lee model harks back to his Les Paul days. With its African mahogany body, and select Indian rosewood neck and fingerboard, this is a different beast indeed to his regular ash and maple version.
Fitted with two DiMarzio custom-design Alnico V humbuckers, it also comes as either hardtail or vibrato-equipped - both having hardened-steel saddles and companion Schaller locking tuners. It's a simple enough looking set-up, but the five-way pickup selector hints at some nifty options from the four available coils lurking beneath the polished chrome covers.
Having played rosewood-necked PRS guitars and bare-necked Fender Relics the Albert Lee's oiled and waxed surface feels just as smooth and tactile. You forget it's there, with no stickiness to slow you down. Its vintage medium 'C' profile, tall frets and flattish 'board make a comfortable playing area and the low action, fantastic set-up and 0.010 Ernie Ball strings make for a 'slinky' experience.
Top-end neck access is aided by Music Man's logical sculpted body heel with its solid five-screw neck attachment system, and if you do need to tweak the truss rod, simply insert a small screwdriver into the adjuster that sits between the 22nd fret and neck pickup: brilliant.
As with so many quality guitars these days, the HH is near impossible to fault from a construction point of view, although this one's black finish is the least appealing of the available hues - give us classic white, powder blue or mint green with pearloid 'guard any day; the Albert Lee was made for that sixties 'Chevy' look.
In his early professional days one of Albert's prime guitars was a 1958 Les Paul Custom. And with its mahogany body and Indian rosewood neck the HH is a move in that direction. Of course, no bolt-on sounds like a set-neck - no matter what it's made of - so what we have here is an ingenious mix of lighter Gibson tones and glassy Fender ones.
The two extreme switch positions offer each humbucker on its own, while the centre selection puts both together in series; position two is the outer coils of each humbucker in parallel; position four the inner two in parallel. Noiseless single-coil operation is maintained via Music Man's Silent Circuit system.
As an instrument that seeks to combine single and double-coil tones it will never have the girth of a Les Paul, but the humbuckers are singing, SG-like and musical, while the single-coil combinations provide the 'vowelly' in-between tones that Albert so enjoys. Very appealing.
No matter how many guitars you review, it's always great when something you thought you knew all about gets a new twist that's so cool you start thinking about credit card limits, storage space and where it would fit on stage. And so it is with this exceptionally fine Albert Lee HH.
Ernie Ball Music Man guitars and basses were some of the first guitars to take build quality and finishing to new heights. Indeed, Music Man could rightly be viewed as among the original 'boutique' manufacturers. All that goes without saying here and the HH's devilishly cool look and clever pickup switching makes it immensely desirable.
Music Mans have never been expensive for what they are and this guitar reflects that. But here's a company that continues to push forward and certainly isn't content to dwell on its past alone. If you're not already a convert, it's time you tried one.


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My understanding is that a subtitle is expressed with the symbol 〜
in Japanese like this:
Main Title ~ Subtitle
Main Title ~Subtitle~
I am not sure about whether there is supposed to be a space on either side of the ~
symbol, or whether the symbol should be on both sides or one side. Is there a clear mentioning of this usage?
In other languages I know, colon :
is used for this purpose, and it looks very peculiar of Japanese to use this symbol for this purpose. Is this only in Japanese? How did the usage arise?


text:
I thought it might be a really creative idea to write a blog post about The Blizzard Of 2011, since I'm sure this notion hadn't occured to any of the other 100 million Americans affected by the storm.
First, I interject the disclaimer that yes, all you people up north, I know that you aren't intimidated by snow and you think it's silly that we Southerners shut down our world for a little dusting. Lest you doubt our hardiness, let me remind you that we're the same people who stand on our front porches and videotape tornadoes. So there. Anyway, this wasn't exactly a dusting. Our region had the highest recorded daily snowfall ever--the local newspaper actually decided to close down for the first time in over a century. The mail isn't running, the doctors' offices are locked up, many highways are shut down entirely.
Basically, it's a lot of snow, dumped on a bunch of people who don't understand snow. To give you an idea of the depth of it, here are my two youngest playing in our backyard snow drifts (that's the nine-year-old on the left):
Thankfully, we had warning of the storm that the media dubbed Snowmaggedon, SnOMG, Snowpocalypse, etc. etc. All day Monday, our radios and telelvisions pinged and blinked and scrolled with warnings that this was The Big One. We love our Oklahoma weathercasters--I guess you tend to bond with people whose voices you hear over the radio while huddled in tornado shelters--they may bring a little drama along for the ride, but they keep us safe!
Thus armed with knowledge, I stocked us up on all the necessary items: peanut butter, cereal, canned goods, toilet paper, cookie dough, and Funyuns. We have made five (so far) batches of snow ice cream (using this recipe--SO delicious). I have made banana bread, chocolate chip cookies, and Pioneer Woman's apple dumplings. My parents ventured out in their four-wheel-drive SUV to bring us deep dish pizza.
To summarize, we've gained 897 pounds.
In the three percent of our day when we're not eating, we've done the following:
- Worked on my son's insect collection, due in a few weeks. There is a gigantic dead cricket on my dining room table at this very moment. Want to come over for dinner?
- Caught up on American Idol on the DVR. I will confess that I mourned the loss of Simon Cowell for the first couple of episodes, but the new judges are slowly growing on me. Is it just me, or does it seem like Randy is being a little meaner this season, perhaps trying to fill Simon's shoes? C'mon, Dawg, play nice.
- Laughed at our little dog, who is so puzzled by the snow. Three-foot snow drifts are confusing when you're only 18 inches tall.
- Managed to help my son get over some trouble he was having with fractions.
- Finally understood fractions, myself. It only took three decades.
- Brought down the Thomas the Tank Engine toys from the attic. My six-year-old daughter plays with them, though not at all like her big brothers once did. There is no racing or colliding--instead, she lines them up and has them communicate at length about the significance of their relationships, and why are you sitting next to him? and I wanted to marry you! and your paint is a really pretty color! Oh, how I enjoy being a girl.
- Stayed glued to the TV coverage of the crisis in Egypt--even the big kids are fascinated at what's going on. Praying for the people there.
- Become a little grumbly and cross with each other. At one point today, after some general shouting and shoving, the exasperated nine-year-old hollered, "THIS FAMILY IS JUST LIKE EGYPT!" *Sigh*.
Since I know that probably at least half of you are similarly snowbound, how are you hanging in there? We are bored and lonely and a little pathetic, so tell us all your funny snow stories. Or tell us that you, too, are thinking of renting a dog sled so you can go to the store for milk.


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Monday 30 November 2009
The Worlds of D&D: Planescape
The History of Planescape
If there is one constant in these journeys through the Dungeons and Dragons campaign worlds, it is the apparent lack of the truly fantastical. Three of the settings visited so far are essentially secondary Earths, based on medieval Europe or other real-world analogues, whilst Dark Sun is effectively D&D interpreted by way of Mad Max. None of these things prevent these settings from being fun to play in or a viable setting for half-decent books, but at the same time we're not really seeing the truly fantastic on display here. D&D is sometimes used as a byword for 'bad' or at the very least 'unambitious' fantasy, and there is an element of truth to that description. However, hidden behind the Drizzts and draconians, there is one part of the D&D franchise that is truly interesting, original and home to some of the best stories ever told in the game.
The D&D multiverse developed over a long period in fits and starts. Gary Gygax wanted demonic entities, otherworldly beings and occasionally proud celestial warriors to show up who wouldn't reside on his campaign world, but would come from 'elsewhere'. This led to the creation of other dimensions and planes of existence. Over the lifespan of Advanced Dungeons and Dragons 1st Edition (1978-89), many different writers and game designers added their own planes of reality, until the whole thing became somewhat unwieldy. Various print editions of the Player's Handbook and Dungeon Master's Guide attempted to streamline the confusing morass of parallel universes but it wasn't until 1987's Manual of the Planes, written by Jeff Grubb, that the D&D multiverse was finally codified.
Grubb developed the idea of the Prime Material Plane consisting of various realities which were the already existing Earth-like worlds, such as Toril (home of the Forgotten Realms), Oerth (Greyhawk) and Krynn (Dragonlance). Around this swirled the Ethereal and Astral dimensions, then beyond them lay the Elemental or Inner Planes (of fire, earth, air and water) and the sixteen Outer Planes, which formed a 'great wheel' cosmology. These Outer Planes included places of great good such as Mount Celestia and places of fell evil, such as the Abyss, home of the Dragonlance goddess Takhisis and the drow god Lolth, where the Blood War between the baatezu and tanar'ri raged for all eternity. At the suggestion of another writer, Grubb also introduced the Plane of Concordant Opposition as a sort of neutral meeting ground between the various planes of reality.
This set-up was maintained, fleshed out a little in other products, until around 1993. At this time TSR were looking to develop a new 'unusual' campaign setting, based on the success of the offbeat Dark Sun and the horror-derived Ravenloft settings, and the feeling that between Forgotten Realms, Dragonlance and Greyhawk (then being briefly revived) the 'standard' fantasy setting was already well-covered. In addition the 2nd Edition of AD&D had been released in 1989, and a brief mention in the new Dungeon Master's Guide aside, no further development had taken place of the other planes of reality. Fan demand for an updated Manual of the Planes was strong. The need for more information on the planes and for a new game world naturally coalesced into an entire campaign setting revolving around the other planes of existence. Veteran game designer David 'Zeb' Cook was put on the job.
The Planescape campaign setting boxed set was released in 1994 and immediately caused a stir. This wasn't your traditional Dungeons and Dragons game. The game's artwork was like nothing seen before in the D&D canon, with muted pastels, striking imagery and unusual colours, apparently inspired more by Dave McKean's work on Sandman and Dr. Seuss than any of D&D's traditional inspirations. Opening the box proved likewise bemusing, with large maps of the entire multiverse and schematic diagrams showing the connections between the various dimensions. The books seemed to take delight in needling the player's incomprehension, referring to them as 'cutters' and 'berks' and that the secret of cracking this Planescape thing was 'getting a clue'. Being bewildered at the game's size and scope was natural and appropriate, as their characters would be bewildered and confused when torn out of their cosy Tolkien-lite secondary worlds ("Not that there's anything wrong with that,") and thrust into the teeming insanity of the cosmos. Whilst there was nothing stopping the players using traditional races like elves or dwarves, the setting strongly suggested using more interesting native races like githzerai, tieflings or bariaur was a better idea. Of course, this didn't quite work as intended, as more than a few players, after a few hours of struggling with the material, threw it under the stairs and went back to playing hunt the beholder in some dungeon instead.
For those who stuck with it, Planescape rapidly became the most rewarding and interesting roleplaying campaign setting ever published. The setting is literally infinite, with any type of game possible. Creative and offbeat DMs came up with some truly original and bonkers campaigns and gaming ideas. Groups of players, particularly those who favoured roleplaying and subverting expectations of the game and setting, enjoyed the game's unusual atmosphere and vibe and seized on the vast glossary of new phrases, colloquialisms and terms with glee. One of Cook's masterstrokes was to introduce the city of Sigil on the Outlands (the somewhat catchier new name for the Plane of Concordant Opposition), a neutral meeting ground where characters could meet or use as a base for their forays elsewhere in the planes. Sigil itself rapidly became one of the most iconic fantasy cities to emerge from the D&D game, to the point where players could spend entire campaigns taking part in intrigues between the factions of the city and ignoring the wider setting beyond.
In short, Planescape is D&D's answer to the New Weird, only it did it before China Mieville made it fashionable.
Planescape's fire burned brightly but also briefly. There was a gradual downturn of new material being released (not helped by TSR's financial woes) and in 1998 the final product, a third Monstrous Compendium book focusing on the setting's creatures, was issued less than four years after the original campaign setting was published. Whilst it had been an enormous critical success, winning multiple awards for both game design and its unforgettable artwork, it had not captured the hearts of the masses. It was perhaps too radical, too ambitious and too arty for its own good. Critics pointed out that whilst the planes were fun to visit for a break from orc-killing, you wouldn't necessarily want to live there, and a common complaint was that the 'infinite reaches of the multiverse' all too often meant lots of arguments between philosophy majors and not as much demon-crushing as might be desired.
Later editions of the game largely revoked or retconned a lot of Planescape material. In 3rd Edition the new Manual of the Planes saw something of a streamlining of the D&D multiverse and the confusing removal of the various campaign worlds into their own, independent cosmologies, which proved headache-inducing for those DMs who had previously been using dimension-hopping campaign ideas. 4th Edition increased this confusion with new dimensions introduced and old ones disappearing. However, 4th Edition has also given rise to hope that Planescape will be revisited, maybe not as its own setting, but as part of the basic setting, as the Dungeon Master's Guide II book and yet another Manual of the Planes feature information on several key Planescape locations, such as Sigil. Whether this will come to anything remains to be seen.
There is one ironic twist in this tale. One and a half years after Planescape was effectively dropped as a D&D campaign setting, a computer roleplaying company named Black Isle released Planescape: Torment, using the Infinity Engine which had proven so popular in the previous year's Baldur's Gate. Torment saw the player taking on the role of an amnesiac, immortal warrior and having to guide him through Sigil and various parts of the multiverse looking for his memories and his mortality, accompanied by a number of complex and multi-faceted companions. Following the advice of the campaign setting itself, there were no traditional D&D races, monsters or weapons. Characters including a burning man, a bodiless floating skull, a mobile suit of armour, a fallen succubi and a sentient clockwork robot. It was extraordinarily good, easily the closest computer games have ever gotten to achieving real literature, and is now commonly cited as the greatest computer roleplaying game ever made. Whilst not as successful as the Baldur's Gate series, it did do respectably well and could have generated much more interest in the Planescape setting, if it hadn't already folded by the time the game came out.
The Worlds of Planescape
The heart of the Planescape campaign setting and normally the first stopping-off point for visitors is Sigil, the City of Doors, also called the Cage. Sigil is located at the very centre of the infinite multiverse (which is both impossible and also accurate), floating above a spire of infinite height (also both impossible and also accurate). The city is located on the inner surface of an immense ring, several miles wide and several miles across, resembling an immense tyre lying on its side slowly rotating above the spire. The city's permanent smog thankfully hides the site of the ground, the constant presence of which which would probably drive half the populace insane through vertigo over time. The city's architecture is a mish-mash of a million different cultures and times from across the multiverse, harbouring as it does representatives from dozens of planes and thousands of worlds. Some of the buildings would give M.C. Escher a headache and make Hieronymus Bosch feel inadequate.
The city is home to sixteen factions, including the Bleak Cabal, the Dustmen, the Doomguard, the Mercykillers and the Harmonium, all of whom espouse different philosophical and ideological viewpoints. Most Sigil campaigns are based around the characters getting involved in disputes between the factions. A 'faction war', one of the few meta-events in the setting, later ravaged parts of the city and saw several factions outlawed or destroyed. Sigil is also home to many portals or planar doors leading anywhere in the multiverse. Some are well-known, marked and open for public use. Others are 'locked' and can only be used by those with a planar key. Some doors are hidden in plain sight (as a normal doorway, for example) and will only teleport those of a certain race, sometimes only on certain days, or on a whim. Mapping the planar gates in Sigil is a keen past-time for some scholars and mages.
The city is ruled by a bureaucratic administration who answers to the Lady of Pain, an inscrutable and completely enigmatic entity. The Lady is assumed to be a deity as her powers within the City of Doors are absolute, but since she refuses to answer queries and flays alive those who try to worship her, this question is difficult to answer. One theory is that if Sigil is indeed a 'Cage', the Lady is both its ruler and its prisoner. The Lady has a perpetually serene, untroubled expression on her face and travels everywhere by floating along several inches above the ground, and her head is surrounded by a mantle of blades. These blades have never been used directly (in the presence of anyone who has lived to tell the story of it, however), but occasionally beings trying to waylay the Lady have suddenly been torn apart by simply stepping into the shadow of the blades. The Lady normally does not favour this type of violence, however, and mostly simply 'Mazes' transgressors, banishing them to a pocket prison dimension consisting of a maze and various inventive and original traps. If the imprisoned one manages to escape, they are usually permitted to return to Sigil. The Lady can also bar, close or shut down any planar gate in the city at will, or open new ones (although she has never passed through one herself, or at least again not in the sight of others). The Lady's powers extend even to barring all the gods access to Sigil. In short, don't mess with her.
Beyond Sigil sits the Outlands, one of the seventeen Outer Planes. The Outlands are neutral ground where caravans of goods and travellers meet or simply pass through on their way somewhere else. At the 'edges' of the plane (although the Outlands, like all planes, are infinite, they also have an edge; go figure) are permanant trade towns and portals leading to the other Outer Planes: Elysium, the Beastlands, Arborea, Ysgard, Limbo, Pandemonium, the Abyss, Carceri, Hades, Gehenna, Baator, Acheron, Mechanus, Arcadia, Mount Celestia and Bytopia. These planes vary immensely in size (although they are all, of course, infinite) and composition. The Abyss is a vast chasm consisting of thousands of levels populated by various evil creatures, whilst Mechanus (also called Nirvana) consists of vast, thousand-mile-wide cogs and machines with cities and entire kingdoms sitting amongst gears and levers.
The Astral Plane, a sort of sea of unusual energy where the gods go when they die, links the Outer Planes to the Prime Material Plane, whilst the Prime Material Plane is also linked and surrounded by the Ethereal Plane, the home of various undead spirits and small demiplanes (the Demiplane of Dread, home of the Ravenloft campaign setting, is located in the Ethereal Plane). The Ethereal links the Prime Material Plane to the Inner Planes, which consist of various forms of energy and act as the power sources for spells.
The Planescape campaign setting eventually gave what a number of D&D fans had been asking for for a while: a truly original, fantastical campaign setting in which the traditional elves, dwarves, orcs and dragons were sidelined in favour of new (or previously-existing but lesser known) races and campaigns based around combat and levelling up were de-emphasised in favour of roleplaying and juggling factions and philosophical ideas.
It's both a good and bad idea. Good, because it encourages radical ideas and a different of gaming, and bad because unless the players are really into it, it can become a little gimmicky. DMs also tend to like the setting because they can take ultra-powerful player characters who are effectively the most powerful beings in their world and dump them in a situation where they are nobodies, whilst players are not always quite so keen on this approach. The setting's biggest problem is that finding and maintaining a coherent narrative plot strand in the vast infinity of the setting can be quite tricky, especially for an unwary or inexperienced DM.
However, for a party really in the mood for something different and a DM really willing to do something outside the box, Planescape is nothing less than the most impressive and versatile toolbox in the Dungeons and Dragons arsenal, and it is a shame it has been effectively on hold for all of 3rd and 4th Editions of the game. It'll be interesting to see if it does come back in a big way for 4th, and in what form it is when it does.
8 comments:
- Blakey UK said...
Great post - thanks for sharing. I've only ever encountered planscape via the Black Isle game (which I've just realised, I never actually finished... hmm, that'll keep me busy during the cold winter months!)
Thanks again for writing so much on these campaign settings (as well as everything else) - it's bringing back a lot of great memories from my D&D days.
Andy - 1 December 2009 at 09:46:00 GMT
- Alex J. Cavanaugh said...
I still have my Planescape box set from 1994! And I enjoyed the new setup. Our resident DM had fun with it, too.
- 1 December 2009 at 14:39:00 GMT
I'll have to find Planescape: Torment. Sounds like Icarium from Malazan.
- 1 December 2009 at 17:21:00 GMT
I'm currently playing Planescape: Torment for the first time- it is awesome, even in this age of shiny shiny graphics.
- 1 December 2009 at 20:00:00 GMT
- Adam Whitehead said...
"I'll have to find Planescape: Torment. Sounds like Icarium from Malazan."
Not dissimilar, actually. Although Planescape: Torment came first (or was published first, albeit by only a couple of months). - 2 December 2009 at 01:57:00 GMT
floating above a spire of infinite height (also both impossible and also accurate)
That's probably why it ended up with so many debates between philosophy majors. Throw stuff out like this, and people start thinking, "Hey wait, does that mean that the pressure and weight on the structure goes towards infinity as you go down, until you reach a point where the structure is compacted to the point where it makes neutron star matter seem like hydrogen in terms of density?" - 2 December 2009 at 02:52:00 GMT
- Unknown said...
You rock. Great post!
- 2 December 2009 at 17:34:00 GMT
- Adam Whitehead said...
@ Brett: the other planes apparently have differing and conveniently vague laws of physics ;-)
- 2 December 2009 at 21:24:00 GMT


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Sunday, May 4. 2008
Why this topic? Don't know probably, because of "Lola rennt", which I should probably watch again sometime - Since that "80 Minutes" movie by Thomas Jahn didn't turn out too entertaining. Or because the attached video reminds me of that "Lola"-advertisement. Guess you know what I mean. Anyway. Enjoy the Ewok Gospel.


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Many years ago, a little girl was rushed to a rural county hospital from summer camp for an emergency appendectomy. As a teenager, she received antibiotics for a bad case of pneumonia. When she grew up and was about to deliver her first child, fetal monitors indicated that the baby's heart rate had slowed, and a Cesarian section was performed urgently. In middle age, she underwent laparoscopic repair of an injured knee.
The little girl, the teenager, the young mother, the middle aged woman, was — is — me.
My medical history isn't remarkable — and that's the point. Like most people alive today, I've been the fortunate recipient of treatments now so routine that we take for granted they haven't always been available. Yet, a century ago, or even less, I could easily have died at summer camp or succumbed to pneumonia; my baby and I might not have lived through that pregnancy; and if I had survived to middle age, I would have done so limping and in pain.
Ask a nurse, doctor, or patient which words they associate with "medicine" and "broken" is likely to top the list. Reports of the millions of Americans who remain uninsured (and the difficulty of trying to insure them), nursing shortages, physician burnout, rising rates of chronic health problems like diabetes and mental illness, and patient dissatisfaction with the care they receive dominate the news.
A couple of generations ago, though, the word "miracle" would have come to mind when medicine was mentioned. During my own, not so distant childhood, front page stories about medicine included the first heart transplant, the first joint replacements, and the eradication of smallpox. Now, medical miracles are no less frequent, though perhaps often less dramatic. And I find myself, in this season of thanksgiving, thinking with gratitude of the patients whose lives have been saved or improved by recent medical advances.
I'm thinking, for example, of a man with HIV infection — a death sentence when I was a resident — who has been living for many years symptom-free. Or the woman cured of hepatitis C, a condition that couldn't be accurately diagnosed, let alone successfully treated, just a few years ago. Or the many patients who have had minimally invasive surgery instead of the more aggressive procedures they would have had to undergo before the development of laparoscopy and robotics. Or the man who spent six months near death in the hospital, and is now back home with his family after receiving a heart-double lung transplant this summer at Mass General.
But at this time of year, especially, I think of my patient Julie.
In early November 2006, Julie and her husband were expecting their second child, due in two weeks. On the way to a prenatal appointment near her suburban home, Julie's car flipped over and she sustained horrific injuries to her head, spine, and upper extremities. In less than an hour, Julie arrived by helicopter at Mass General where a large, multi-specialty team including nurses, anesthesiologists, trauma, orthopedic, and plastic surgeons, neurosurgeons, obstetricians, and pediatricians waited.
The team was unable to save Julie's baby, or her right arm. But they saved her life. After a long rehabilitation, Julie returned home and is now doing well. When I asked her permission to share her story, she agreed enthusiastically.
"I could spend a whole lifetime and then another reaching out to thank all the people who helped me," she said. She's grateful to her nurses and doctors, of course. But she also wanted to thank the social workers and medical secretaries who helped facilitate her care. And she's especially thankful for the EMTs who stabilized her at the roadside.
Sophisticated treatment by EMTs in the field is a relatively recent medical advance. Until the second half of the 20th century, when emergency medical procedures employed in the military were adopted for civilian use, ambulances were barely more than taxis to the hospital. The idea that timing is critical in care of trauma victims and therefore first responders require advanced medical skills is fairly recent. Julie knows that the superb care she received began minutes after her accident. "If one person had stumbled I wouldn't have made it," she told me. "Everyone was so well trained, so on top of their game."
In addition to looking for better treatments for conditions that devastate individuals — pancreatic cancer and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's disease) come to mind — researchers around the world are now also trying to effect medical miracles for whole populations.
At a recent symposium marking the 100th anniversary of the Harvard School of Public Health, physicians from several countries discussed some of the challenges they face.
The health minister of Afghanistan spoke movingly of a cemetery near Kabul in which scores of children killed by measles are buried. The health minister of Nigeria described injured and ill patients forced to walk miles for surgery. And the health minister of Thailand asked whether human trafficking might be considered a public health emergency. American doctors spoke of inequitable access to health care, obesity, hunger, and violence as problems awaiting solutions by the next generation of medical miracle workers.
Earlier this month, two days after the seventh anniversary of her accident, Julie celebrated her son's third birthday. Julie reflected recently on the timing of her accident, so near her son's birthday and also the holidays. "In a way, I'm kind of lucky the anniversary of my accident is right before Thanksgiving," she said. "As low as I sometimes get, it's still a time to be thankful."
Dr. Suzanne Koven is a primary care internist at Massachusetts General Hospital. Read her blog on Boston.com/
Health. She can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com.


text:
Graphical digital forensics platform for The Sleuth Kit and other tools.
This is the complete list of members for org.sleuthkit.autopsy.timeline.ui.listvew.ListTimeline.HashHitCell, including all inherited members.
updateItem(CombinedEvent item, boolean empty) | org.sleuthkit.autopsy.timeline.ui.listvew.ListTimeline.HashHitCell | protected |
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Altoona Chiropractor | Dr. Brett Fye
Altoona Chiropractic Life Center for Wellness
We welcome you as our patient and appreciate the opportunity to provide you with quality chiropractic care.
Chiropractic is a fundamental science based upon the concept that the cause of many disease processes begins with the interference to the normal nerve supply by misaligned vertebrae.
The chiropractic approach to health is to try to re-align the spinal vertebrae through gentle, corrective adjustments which will relieve the pressure on the nerves and allow the vital nerve energy to reach the tissues it serves.
This chiropractic approach has restored good health to millions of people, often when other methods have failed.
Chiropractic Care Can help!
Our goal at Altoona Chiropractic Life Center is to help you as soon as possible and to keep you feeling great!
Call our Altoona chiropractic office now to schedule an appointment!
Dr. Brett Fye | Altoona Chiropractor
Quality Chiropractic Care for Altoona, Bellwood & Hollidaysburg


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The first thing that comes to my mind when I see any fairness cream advertisement is "oh my god that is so racist"; it's like going to a black person and saying " would you want a fairness cream? You should use it because you aren't fair enough to be human. I don't know why I hate their ads but I do; it's highly racist when you showcase a girl sad when she is dark and happy when she is fair. Generally in the fairness creams advertisement you will see the girl being normal, sad and not reaching her goals because of her color and BANG she uses a stupid cream and she gets what she wants and everyone falls in love with her.
Don't you feel sad for the girl? She has the same talent, the same face, same body but fair skin ( just on the face by the way :P). I find it highly annoying because I see things in that ad that others don't. I am a literature student and an essential part of my study is that of post colonial nature. I study a specific paper which deals with the affect of colonization on the colonized (effects of the English on Indians). I study literature regarding this but the one thing that surprises me is the actual practice of this in India.
My dislike of the fairness creams stems from my knowledge of colonization in the idea of a fairness cream; trying to be fair is more than just wanting to be pale. The people who buy the fairness cream are getting included in this cycle of wanting to be white- it's like trying to be like a white person because unconsciously you feel they are superior to you or their appearance is more desirable. I don't think any Indian consciously wants to be white but I can't generalize.
Some Facts About Fairness Creams
I know it's easy for me to say that "don't use fairness creams" considering the fact that I am fair but let me tell you the truth behind fairness creams. Our skin color is determined by our race and genetic lineage which in turn decides the amount and structure of melanin (the pigment in the skin which is the reason for our color). According to most dermatologists, achieving fairness up to 20% is possible, but not more than that. The fairness creams block sun rays and prevent secretion of Melanin, which gives the dark colour to the skin. So in effect fairness cream reduce tan, prevent the skin from getting darker by preventing melanin secretion; but fairness creams cannot change a person's natural skin color. Nothing can change that structure of melanin. It's the same as if you have curly hair, you cannot use any product to naturally make it straight , you can comb it when its wet but the actual and natural structure of your hair will remain curly, you can even get it chemically treated but the new hair growth will always be curly. A fairness cream does the same , it removes your upper skin layer so that the skin below appears. Fairness creams can contain harmful bleaching agent such as hydroquinone, the percentage of which is between 3- 4%, but most of them do not mention the percentage of the chemicals on the packets which can cause skin allergy, cancer, kidney problem. Hydroquinone is a strong inhibitor of melanin production, meaning that it prevents skin from making the substance responsible for skin color. Hydroquinone does not bleach the skin but lightens it, and can only disrupt the synthesis and production of melanin hyperpigmentation. It has been banned in some countries (e.g. France) because of fears of a cancer risk.
I am not trying to turn you away from the fairness cream you have used for some years now but I just want you to question the products you use. You should think before you apply something on your face because it represents you. Anything that is used by you or comes in contact with you changes and formulates your personality. If you are applying a cream to your face because it boost your confidence it is okay but you should question if you are comfortable in your natural skin color. I am not against some person using anything on their face but the question is of "questioning" the product.
There are natural variants to make your skin 'clear.' I use besan with lemon on my face; that is the only thing I have used for 7 years now to wash my face 🙂 The lemon clears your skin of any marks and dark spot. Lemon will not erode the upper layer of the skin but it will lighten the imperfection in your complexion. I am not miss white but I like my complexion. Be proud of what you have, any color, any shape, any size… a person is beautiful when they smile 🙂
Some Myths About Fairness Creams
- Fairness creams can make you fair: All fairness cream or skin whitening creams are effective only if the pigment is in the epidermis. If the pigment is deeper, the product canot help or make changes. Thus, fairness cream can help remove a tan or discoloration due to some pigment in the top layer of the skin. It cannot make a dark person fair.
- Manufacturers list all their ingredients on the product label: This is not true. Manufacturers are not required by law to mention all the ingredients on the product label.
- Fair skin is better than dark skin: Medically, dark skin is believed to be less vulnerable to skin diseases than light skin. More melanin in dark skins provides protection from the sun and, in turn, disease. Light skin contains less melanin and thus less protection.
- Ayurvedic or herbal fairness creams have no chemicals: This is a myth. Only home remedies for fairness can be free of chemicals. All commercial products have chemical bases that give them the texture and consistency and preservatives that prevent them from going bad.
- Herbal ingredients have no side effects: A person can be allergic to plant based herbal ingredients also. It is advisable that they apply the cream to a small area on their hands before using them.
Also Read:
Himalaya Herbals Fairness Cream
Lotus Herbals Cocofair Ginseng Fairness Creme
Oriflame Fairness Lotion with Mulberry & Vitamin E
Kaya Fairness Nourishing Day cream with SPF 15
Skin Care : Revlon Touch and Glow Advanced Fairness Cream
Face: Skin Whitening Products


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"Movies encourage passive titillation; videogames encourage active involvement, and often present consequences as well."
Now, substitute "journalism" for "movies" and "blogging" for "videogames." That seems true to me. I mean, other than that "titilliation" makes reading the newspaper sound like more fun than it is.
Personally, I've nearly entirely stopped watching movies, though a few years ago, I went out to the movies three times a week, and I watched many movies at home. My old weekly total is more like my annual total, and my avoidance is almost entirely a result of enhanced awareness and consequent dislike of the passivity of sitting, trapped in the theater for two hours. I don't play videogames, but for a viewing experience, I'd rather watch something on TV that I can blog. In that sense, for me, "American Idol" or a political debate is like a videogame. I have an active role, through writing. As for the newspaper, I can hardly imagine just sitting and reading it through. It's so much more entrancing to read to write.
Blogging has transformed the way I read. Before blogging, I was slogging -- reading, frustrated by the slowness of my own reading. Now, my old vice is a virtue. That draggy slogging from sentence to sentence was the pull of my own thoughts, which are liberated by blogging. In blogging, you focus on the little phrases that hang you up. What used to slow me down is now a portal into my own writing -- the active, not the passive engagement with words.


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12" Preloaded Shallow-Mount Component Subwoofer Enclosure
- Get deep big bass from a small enclosure.
- Easy to install in virtually any vehicle.
- Enclosure Size: 30-5/8" x 14" x 6-5/8" (W x H x D)
Air Suspension System
In order to create a subwoofer that is three and a quarter inches deep, Pioneer had to develop revolutionary subwoofer technology. A traditional subwoofer uses the spider design to keep the voice coil of the speaker aligned while it moves. This type of set-up can become soft over time degrading the subwoofer's performance. Pioneer created a patent-pending air suspension system that locks air between a main cone and a drive cone. The cones move together in unison, with the locked-in air behaving like a spring. The dual-cone structure is a spider-less design that maintains better sound linearity, and reliability even after many of hours of hard use.
The pressure from the trapped air results in a consistent bass response across a wide frequency range. The result is a tight, precise movement with powerful and clean bass output.
3-Layer Interwoven Radial Surround
The TS-SWX310 incorporates an innovative woven cloth reinforced radial urethane surround for improved power handling, reduced distortion, improved durability, and louder, more controlled bass. The surround is constructed of three layers — two of urethane and one of interwoven cloth. The interwoven cloth distributes strength throughout the surround material and improving its high power capability. The result is an extremely durable and resilient surround that resists puckering, even under intense power conditions.
Unlike traditional surrounds that use a single arch shape design, the Pioneer Shallow Subwoofer utilizes a patent-pending M-shape surround that provides superior sound linearity.
M-Shaped Surround
The M-shape surround also has a lower height, and a lower fc or tuning frequency. The lower fc threshold translates to better and longer performance at lower frequencies.
Angled Push Terminals
Traditional subwoofer terminals are mounted horizontally or vertically. These mounts force wires to be bent to fit which can be difficult if low-gauge high performance wires are used. The Pioneer shallow subwoofer's patent-pending, angled push terminals make it easy to connect speaker wires. The straighter connection saves space and makes installation easier.
Fin-Shaped Basket
Traditional subwoofers push air downward. This creates a "loading effect" or area of pressure underneath the speaker which hampers performance and responsiveness. The rear of the powerful and slim Pioneer shallow subwoofer is designed with specially-shaped fins that channel the airflow sideways instead of downward. Air is continuously pushed in a circular motion, eliminating the "loading effect" or unwanted pressure of air behind the cone.
- 12"
- 20 Hz to 114 Hz
- 91 dB
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Thane Krios
First Appearance | Mass Effect 2 |
Race | Drell |
Squadmate | No |
Voiced By | Keythe Farley |
A deadly assassin and a master of death, Thane Krios is one of the most lethal characters you can recruit in your squad. Thane is a Drell that is recruited to your team during a mission where you attempt to stop him from assassinating a target. Despite his lethality, Thane is deeply religious and prays to the Drell gods before and after he takes on an assignment. He asks for forgiveness after killing each target, ignoring those around him until he is finished doing so. He sees his own body as a tool to be used to commit murder, much like one would use a weapon.
Thane is first met on Illium where he manages to kill a powerful Asari businesswoman who mistreats her employees and manages to slip by her security and then kills her in her office. His loyalty mission is to stop his son Kolyat, also an assassin, from killing a Citadel politician up for election. Thane suffers from a rare disease called Kepral's Syndrome that will eventually kill him and he is prepared to accept his death. Because of this, and the guilt he feels being an assassin, Thane decides to join Shepard for "one final mission".
"Killing is an art. And I...am a Master."
"The measure of an individual can be difficult to discern by actions alone."


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Medved Show – 12/21/2012 – H3 – Grover Norquist and Movie Reviews
Fri, Dec 21, 2012
H3 – Grover Norquist and Movie Reviews
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While some still deride cloud computing as a passing fad, I see it as a technology change agent. In the Microsoft sphere, our first hint of this change came with Windows Phone in 2010, where the software giant discarded old and well-understood account and data models and removed the PC sync requirement. But Windows Phone was only a half measure, as it turns out, and the digital media content you accessed from the device—music, video and photos for the most part—still required a PC sync connection.
In Windows 8, the revolution continues, and digital media will be centralized in the cloud much as our accounts and data were beginning with Windows Phone. Windows 8 will be, in other words, a more complete vision of how Microsoft sees the future of computing, and something akin to what Apple is offering with iCloud.
For this reason, the new digital media apps in Windows 8—Photos, Music, and Video—are hard to understand today. They are simplistic, even ridiculous. They offer nothing beyond the most basic consumption interfaces, so you can view photos, play music, and watch movies, but not edit pictures, manage your music collection, or edit and share home movies.
That this is by design is, perhaps, confusing. And one thing I need to remind myself as I write these overviews of various Windows 8 features, and write the book Windows 8 Secrets, is that what we're seeing today is as incomplete now as it is deliberate.
Of course, this is just a lengthy way of stating that the Video app, the final part of the triumvirate of pain that is Microsoft's new selection of Metro-style digital media apps, is, well, horrible. It's as lackluster as any App Preview I've used, and is perhaps even the worst of the bunch. Not that it matters. The back-end features that will make this and other digital media apps in Windows 8 special aren't available yet. So all we can do now is look at what we're given, shake our heads, and move on.
Like its stable mates, the Video app is a typical, Metro-style, full-screen experience that extends horizontally and looks and works much like the Music app and like the digital media experiences in the Xbox 360.
And like the Music app, Video pushes Microsoft's online store experiences over your own local video collection, sandwiching your collection between marketplace-placed groups for Spotlight, Movies, and TV shows. In this case, however, that's a bit less bothersome. After all, unlike with music, few people have huge collections of movies and TV shows on their hard drives.
Navigation works as it does with the Music app. Those who do have local video collections—as I do—can use the Collection view to access that content, though the Video app almost always misidentifies the videos as "Other" rather than appropriately as a movies or TV shows. (The temporary fix: Use the Zune PC software's Edit function to correctly tag the content as Movies or TV series, respectively.)
Video playback works largely as expected and resembles the Windows Phone video player with large, touch-friendly controls, including a new unique new timeline scrubber. You can even play most content to your Xbox 360 (using the Xbox Companion app), giving Windows 8 users an Apple AirPlay-like solution.
Of course, the primary reason this app exists is so you can browse and then buy (and/or rent) content from Microsoft's Marketplace. For some reason, the app gives two entryways into this content—one for movies and one for TV shows—but they work nearly identically, except for some navigational changes related to the format of TV shows, which feature multiple episodes spread across multiple seasons.
Intriguingly, you're given some choices when you buy or rent videos. That is, you can stream the video directly to the current PC or device, bypassing the need to download it before watching it. But if you do want to watch the video later offline (say, on a plane), you can choose to download if you prefer. But you can also simply just make the purchase and then not watch the rented or purchased video at that time. Later, you can access the video content from a Windows 8 PC or device, or the Xbox 360, and begin watching as you please.
Purchased content is forever associated with your Microsoft account, and anytime you access the marketplace—from Windows 8 or the Xbox 360 only, for now—you can navigate to an item directly in the marketplace, and start streaming it immediately: Instead of a Play/Rent button, you'll see a Play button. There's no concept like a "Purchased Items" list as on iTunes, at least not yet.
Movie and TV show listings feature buttons related to buying and renting (movies only), video details, Play on Xbox (which will stream to an Xbox 360 on the local network), and Play Trailer (movies only). TV seasons expand so you can see individual episodes.
The purchase experience differs a bit between movies and TV shows as well. For movies, the assumption is that you wish to rent the SD version of the movie and stream it to the current device immediately. With TV shows, you can choose to purchase shows in SD or HD (when available), and you always get both download and stream availability. A Change viewing options link presents a screen with options that will vary from content to content but can include HD, purchasing and renting, and Play, Download and Done options.
And then there's the whole Microsoft Points thing. Rather than sell you content in your local currency, Microsoft pushes everything through a points system designed to save it money and complexity, while costing you, the user, both. I cannot believe we're still dealing with Microsoft Points. But we are.
I don't know.
Maybe it's just me, but the Microsoft media marketplace stuff seems half hearted and inconsistently implemented. I just don't get the feeling that Microsoft is fully behind these services or that the apps that serve them in Windows 8 will ever rise above the minimum, or the mediocre. I want to be proven wrong here, really. But in the face of Apple's iTunes/iCloud/iDevice juggernaut what I see here is Zune generation 2. And that's not enough.